Art-Rock band Goon played a secret show Thursday night in Cypress Park near Dodger Stadium. Goon is Kenny Becker (Guitar/Vocals), Andy Polito (Drums), Dillon Peralta (Drums), and Tamara Simmons (Bass). The performance was a three song acoustic set followed by a listening party for their new album Hour of Green which was released the following day. There was pizza, cupcakes to go along with the new album having a little plastic ladder on top, and small lyric books for the songs on the new album.
The album features Spoon guitarist/keyboardist Alex Fischel and cellist Emily Elkin (Angel Olsen/Olivia Rodrigo. The day before the listening party, Goon released the single and video “Emily Says,” written about the Velvet Underground Becker’s wife Emily. Their wedding was held where the listening party was. Goon is known as ‘your favorite band’s favorite band, The official release show will be held September 2nd at the Lodge Room with Wajatta (Reggie Watts & John Tejada).
“The evolution of Goon has come to full fruition on Hour of Green Evening. It’s the band’s most complete statement, engaging all aspects of their sound to stunning effect. The record conjures the nighttime suburban world of Becker’s youth, a mix of concrete and cookie-cutter homes with the lush beauty of California landscapes. The album thrums with mystery, with the half-remembered past hazy as dreams, the mixed sense of comfort and longing for freedom so essential to youth. The world of Hour of Green Evening is lush and strange, populated by people dreaming, sleeping and waking, existing in that in-between space of the nighttime world. Plant references abound, the “hydrangea lawns” of “Last Light On,” the “eucalyptus wall” of “Wavy Maze,” the oleander in the hypnotic “Lyra,” all swirling together in an endless suburban gloaming.”
“Hour of Green Evening stands as the most powerful statement from Goon yet. Becker and company evoke a sense of childhood yearning in a night-blooming suburban world, a sleepwalker’s journey beneath the orange-glowing streetlights. It’s a record of melodic richness and finely textured production, slipping easily between heavy guitars and glimmering vocals, a fullness that comforts but never overwhelms. The songs have a melancholy to them, but they never succumb to hopelessness, knowing at the heart of the darkest night there is still light, goodness, and maybe even someone else there to help you wander through.”
Words by Jimmy Cajoleas
Photos by Alex Kluft
